Biography William Rush

A prominent carver of figureheads for ships, one of the founders of the
Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts, and likely America's first sculptor in the
fine-art tradition, William Rush became well known in Philadelphia in
the late 18th and early 19th centuries. For fifty years, he
oversaw a successful woodcarving shop with many apprentices at a time
when Philadelphia was challenging Boston
as the primary shipbuilding center in the United States. He is
credited with introducing to America the French style of figurehead,
which was full length and called a "walking figure", meaning they were
freestanding and appeared to be walking forward. These
figures were in contrast to the prevalent English style, which
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